Preventing violent behavior in children may be as easy as turning off the television. Researchers looked at the effects of a 6-month school-based program on limiting TV and video game time. Children at one school participated in the program and were given an electronic TV-time manager to take home. The researchers then compared their aggressive behavior and perceptions of the world with children at another school that did not run the program (the "control" group).

To measure aggression, the researchers questioned the children's parents and peers, and observed the children on the playground.
According to the study participants and their parents, the program got children to cut their TV time by one-third and limit their video game playing.

Moreover, the investigators found that compared with children in the control group, the program appeared to reduce kids' aggressive behavior, according to their peers. Children in the program were also less likely to see the world as "mean and scary".

Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine January 2001;155:13-14, 17-23